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2011-06-10 - A Rough Welcome Home
The day had started with such shock, then elation, but all too soon it fell into the hard and uncaring void of a military inquest. The twins had been separated once again, something neither were likely fond about, with Alina being dragged into the Earth Cradle medical facilities while Ascian was brought in front of his own superiors to be questioned. There is a certain amount of irony in the fact that Alina had been once again locked into a medical bay with armed guards watching her every move. It seemed that a few months really hadn't changed her state of affairs much. There is less suspicion, though, and a general feeling that most of the doctors, nurses, and guards were just following orders. Like a human guinea pig, Lin found herself poked, prodded, scanned, and run through a series of tests, all with the cold efficency of people who had been warned not to socialize with a 'prisoner'. In the mean time, Ascian was brought to a small room with a one-way glass window on the opposite wall, looking into an empty room. There, he had to answer to ranking members of Cradle staff as well as a teleconference with one of the heads of BAHRAM. Some of what they'd asked was old information - what had happened the day that Mayet and Amenthes escaped the self-destructed facility? What information did Mayet hold? Was there any way to override the security of the Orbital Frame to extract that information? Other things were far more mundane. Questions about his sister - her training, her personality, her physical characteristics, their relationship with one another. Some things seemed important, while others were entirely random. The line of questioning continued well into the early afternoon, when it was interrupted by one of the doctors stepping in with a thick binder full of test results. At the same time, Alina was lead into the room opposite from Ascian, wearing just a hospital gown and with her hands bound in front of her. The young woman was left to sit there in silence while the doctor spread out a few things in front of Ascian. "Well, the good news is, she is your sister. The DNA results confirmed that." The first page is a printout showing key gene markers which confirm the white-haired woman's identity. "What's the bad news?" This came from the interrogator, who had his arms folded, standing against the wall. "The bad news..." The doctor starts, and then shuffles through his papers before laying a familiar image down in on the table. "This is a scan of her brain activity that we extracted from the A-LAWs facility computer. As you can see in these dark areas, there is only minimal brain function. In my professional opinion, someone showing these sorts of injuries could expect, at best, would be a persistant vegetative state." The doctor looks between the two men, hesitating as he meets Ascian's eyes. Perhaps something he sees there is enough for him to move on from this quickly, clearing his throat before pulling out another page. This one is dated today. "This scan is from this morning. Now, as you can see, the brain activity has vastly increased, but it isn't exactly in the areas we'd see on a health individual." A third brain scan is added, this one showing an 'average' human. "Now, judging from the initial scans, I wouldn't have imagined such a recovery possible. We can't exactly explain it, but it seems as if Miss Luddite's brain has been forming new connections to route around the damaged sections of her brain." He taps on the table, and then ends up jumping when the interogator grunts, and mutters to himself, "With all due respect, get on with it, doctor." "Um, yes." He studders and then takes a breath to steady himself. "Well, the bad news is that as amazing as her recovery is, there is still extensive damage to Miss Luddite's brain. Her motor cortex seems to be functioning properly, but the parts of the brain associated with memory are... a mess." He seems to be trying to use layman's terms. "And what does that mean for us?" The doctor gathers his papers together, looking uncomfortable as he rises to her feet. "Sir, the chances of Miss Luddite ever recovering more than residual memories is slim. There is a high likelihood seizures, and the strong possibility of mental handicaps that haven't yet displayed themseles symptomatically. In short..." The doctor pauses, looking at Ascian in that 'please don't kill the messenger' sort of way. "There is little chance of Miss Luddite being the young woman you remember. I'm sorry." It is so strange, as what the doctor is reporting seems so different than what Ascian would have experienced this morning. Sure, there were times where she hesitated, or seemed a bit lost, but Lin had remembered him. She'd remembered some events of their childhood, and there had been that brief moment in the Mess Hall where she'd seemed like her old self. It was obvious that Ascian was annoyed by the fact that he had to play twenty questions with his superiors. However, with the fate of his sister in his hands, he did his best to answer truthfully throughout the entire thing, and not show his definite irritation. His eyes remained stern onto the superiors before him. Her personality was skimmed a bit, because it was hard to say anything bad about her. As for her physical traits. "-- Right here." Ascian touches an area beneath his collarbone, as he explains a wound the girl had received due to him shooting her. And the questioning continued. That is, until that doctor arrives, and Alina is pushed into that seperate room. His eyes widen, seeing the girl sit there on her own. But his attention is ripped from her as the doctor begins to speak. And as he speaks... that former slight smile disappears further... and further... until it is entirely gone and sheer shock is left. His hands reach up to the sides of his head and fingers intertwine with his hair. No, he's not going to kill the messenger. Instead, he's trying his best not to fall into dispair again. "She acted... normal." Ascian whispers. There's a heavy feeling against his chest, but he doesn't start crying. Instead, he gathers some of his courage and looks up. "I will guide her through life. No matter what is required of me. She is still my sister." He'd try to make her remember, by whatever means nescissairy. He'd tell her the things she'd missed, or no longer remembered. The doctor gives a dubious look at Ascian, but doesn't seem as if he were going to argue the point with him. "That's all we need, doctor." The interogator grunts once more, and then turns to look at the girl behind the window. Without her flight suit, with only the hospital gown, there is a frail look to Alina. In some ways, that is probably intentional - trying to make sure she was uncomfortable and out of her element. Into that room walks another ranking officer, who sits down in the chair opposite Alina, folding his hands. Silence lingers between them for a long period of time - again, a technique to set her on edge, but it doesn't seem to work. Lin's eyes are distant and calm, not even looking up from the table's surface. And then the questioning begins. Only when she's addressed does the girl's head lift. The wound to her skull had been treated, taped over with two small strips along her forehead. The questions start simply, but it is these seemingly easy questions that show just how much the girl has lost. "Your name?" "Alina." "Last name?" "I don't know..." And that would be the answer for so many questions that followed. Age? Place of birth? Date of birth? Parent's names? Brother's name? "Ascian. He pilots Amenthes." And so it continues. Every now and again, the girl seems to actually be able to answer one rare thing, but these are few and far between. As the questioning drags on, even her calm exterior begins to show cracks. The young woman's fingers clench beneath the table, her eyes seeming vaguely glassy even as she responds time and time again with that repetative 'I don't know...'. After almost two hours of this, they finally seem to move on to more recent questions. "Where was Katharon keeping you?" "The Argama." "Who authorized you to stay there?" "Captain Bright Noa." "Who trained you to pilot?" "Macua Huitl." "Did you have any exposure to sensitive areas of the ship?" "No." They do push a few points, trying to find out exactly what she might know, but it seems as if the Katharon higher ups had been quite thorough about keeping her locked out of anything that would be considered 'classified' information. When the questioning stops, it is quite late. The entire day had slipped by. Alina is once again left alone in the opposite room as the staff confer amongst themselves about the young framerunner. That is what seems to take an interminably long time. Eventually, though, they reappear in the little room with Ascian, looking dire. It's an expression that might even lead him to expect the worst. "Lieutenant." The one who had been questioning Alina seems to be the highest ranking of those present, so he speaks for the others. "It is the opinion of this committee that your sister poses no threat to Crusader security. However -" Ahh, there's always a condition. "We do not believe she is in any fit condition to return to active duty." Before Ascian can object, he raises a hand. "We have noted your assessment of her piloting abilities since the accident, and such we have decided to assign her to your squad. It will be your determination when she is flight-ready, and she will be your responsibility." The entire play at the other side of the window is observed with patience from Ascian. But when Alina can't even remember their last name... and proceeds to miss out on so much simple information, he begins to understand what the doctors had meant. He'd stood up and walked towards the window, leaning one arm flat against the glass so he could lean his head against that. This way, he could hide his own emotions from the commanding officers. In a ways, it hurt. Not just to see her like that, the once great and powerful - strong sister, but also that continued realization that there was so much that he'd have to tell her, to teach her. He doesn't know what might set off her memories, what may make those little connections within her mind. Perhaps it was exposure to Mayet that had let her bind her mind once again? Was there an answer there? Hours pass, but Ascian barely moved a muscle - short of drinking a couple of cups of coffee; a drink he'd normally never partake of. He just stood there, leaning against the window, until finally they remove themselves from ALina's room and laeve her just... sitting there like that. The young man returns to the seat, and wehn the men come in, his expression is stern once again. His hands on the table, fingers intertwined, gaze set on the man who is now speaking to him. There's a twitch when that 'however' comes about. And when it is claimed that she isn't in a fit condition to return to active duty... Ascian doesn't seem to object. If he could have his sister - without having to put her in danger, that was fine too. However, when the news turns brighter, a small smile appears on Ascian's face. "Thank you, sir." He says, standing up and pushing the seat back, before moving around the table and firmly shaking his superior's hand. "Thank you for giving me this opportunity." He follows up on his previous words. "I will take responsibility to the fullest, sir." And the framerunner salutes. There doesn't seem to be much more to say after that. A single guard comes into the opposite room, releasing the bonds from around Alina's wrists. There are red marks on her skin, banded across the strange tattoo-like marks that her exposure to metatron had left. "Ensign." He salutes to the her, earning an almost instinctive one in reply, and then departs. This time, the door is open, and it's clear that while Katharon had taken far longer, that the Crusaders are not going to hold her as a prisoner. Lin walks out as she would anywhere else, with complete comfort and control. Even in the hospital gown, she isn't about to show weakness. She waits for a moment in the hallway for Ascian to be released as well. She even keeps her self control a moment longer long enough for those ranking Crusaders to walk off into the distance before her blue eyes look up towards him. "So what's the verdict?" Rubbing at her wrists, it's might be clear to him, even if to few others, that she is shaken by the day's events. Alina hadn't slept in neary thirty-six hours, and she hadn't eaten almost as long. It is taking it's toll. "Do you think they'd let me crash in your quarters? I still need that shower, and food, and sleep. All the red tape about re-enlisting and getting my own quarters and signing paperwork can wait until tomorrow, can't it?" She can't remember her own last name, but somehow she's able to remember paperwork. What a strange sort of amnesia. When Ascian and Alina wander out of the two 'seperate' rooms around the same time, ascian too waits for those up superior rank to wander off. And when she speaks, he's just opened his mouth to speak as well. However, he falls silent, not wanting to be rude and talk over her. The young man observes the girl, his hands behind his back, quickly scanning across her body, before he captures her gaze within his own. "From now on, you will..." A smile returns to his face. "Be my big sister - in my own squad." His arms quickly reach out and he pulls her into a full hug. The fact that she hasn't actually slept, eaten, or showered isn't really something he 'notices' so much. "Welcome to the Divine Crusaders." Ascian chuckles, then moves his head back a bit so he can properly look at her again. "And, sure. You can stay in my quarters for a while. We're siblings, aren't we?" Oh, the smile on his face. However, it's a bit strained. After all, he doesn't know when to bring up the subject of all of those things she doesn't know. Should he just write them all down? "By the way, you are twenty-three, just like me. We're twins. You were technically borns ten seconds before me..." That's why she is his big sister. And also a fact that, in the past, she hadn't let him live down. Well, not in a serious manner really. But still. "As for our last name, it's Luddite." He continues on to say, then grabs her by the hand - or tries to anyhow - and begins to lead her off to the crew quarters. In that moment when he starts to speak, Lin's breath catches slightly. She can't help but imagine the worst-case senario, especially after having been put through hell on the Argama when she'd shown up in Katharon. But what he actually says comes as a surprise, those blue eyes widening slightly, getting drawn into that hug before she has a chance to reply. Lin's arms slide around his back, pulling her brother tightly to her as she snuggles her head under his chin. They were both tall, but she's still a bit shorter than he is. "Really? You aren't kidding me, are you?" A welcome. It had taken her weeks to get that from the crew of the Argama, and here she had it from her brother's lips on the first day. The change between one side of the war and the other is like night and day. She lightly pulls back when he does, offering a soft smile, "Only if it's not a bother for me to stay." She adds on to her request, letting one arm pull back as she runs a hand through that unkempt white hair. It really needs a trim. "I mean, I don't know if you have a girlfriend or anything, or anyone I'd be intruding on." In fact, she doesn't even remember having slept over in his room before - something she'd done many times over the course of their childhood. It had warded off the worst of the loneliness and helped solidify that strange bond between the two siblings. She accepts the pull of his hand, walking along at his side without any complaint. Luckily, the gown she's wearing isn't one of those embarassing 'ass-view' types, but it isn't exactly flattering either. "Right. We used to look alike when we were little, before things changed." Click. Her eyes close for a moment, and then the young woman is forced to struggle to catch up, scrambling her bare feet on the floor. "We used to trick the teachers at school, because they couldn't tell us apart." Of course, puberty and metatron had changed things, but there were still many similarities between the Luddite twins. "I don't think I look twenty-three though. Neither do you." Her hand squeezes his lightly as they walk. When Alina comments on the whole girlfriend thing, Ascian... turns quiet for a bit. "No. No girlfriend." It's quite obvious that there is a story behind that one, especially as his pace towards his own quarters slows slightly. Though this was also partially so because Alina was left behind slightly as memories manage to catch up with her. "You just have to deal with Seril come in and out on occassion. That's all, really." The young man adds in hopes of diffusing that topic. Of course, with the questions Alina may or may not have about his relationship with the fanged one... who knows how successful that was. "Either way, no, it's not really a bother. Being a Lieutenant, I got a bigger room than before, so it'll be no problem." It doesn't take /too/ long before Alina and Ascian have found their way to the floor one higher than the standard barracks, where Ascian slides a keycard down a slot with his one empty hand, squeezing the girl's hand with the other. "Come on in." He pulls down on the doorknob and pushes it open, revealing a fairly sizable room. Bedroom, desk, bathroom, all the nescessities. It's not /fantastic/. But still, it can be equated to a small appartment. Ascian waits for Alina to head in first, before heading in and closing the door behind him and suddenly hugging her from behind again, hiding his head against her shoulder and neck. Continued signs of affection to show just how much he'd missed her. "This isn't a dream." He whispers to her. "You're finally home now." While there might be no one sharing the hallways with them at this late hour of night, that doesn't mean that Alina doesn't understand how sensitive some topics might be. She casts a glance towards her brother, "Sounds like there was one, but not anymore?" This is Lin, afterall, the hopeless romantic - there is no way that she isn't going to stick her nose into her brother's love life, wether he likes it or not. "What happened?" This, of course, seems to tie right in to his comment about Seril coming and going, so he's going to get the 'big' question about that as well. "You like Seril, don't you?" There is a pause from Alina as she bites at her lower lip, "And I don't mean in just the adorable kid sister sort of way." Perceptive, isn't she? Of course, it isn't as if Ascian were being particularly subtle, at least not to her anyways. As they reach his quarters, Lin watches the key card swipe, "Lieutenant Luddite." She tries out the title for size, looking at him with a smile gracing her pale lips. "I'm really proud of you, Ian. It's what you always wanted, and soon enough you'll have captain's bars, I'm sure of it." Stepping inside, she blinks at the size of the place. While it might seem like small quarters to Ascian, Alina had spent the last few months in a tiny room on the Argama that barely fit a bed, a small closet, and a sparce bit of walking room between the two. She releases his hand to take a step or two forward, getting a feel for the place, when that hug suddenly comes up from behind her. The warmth of his arms seems to come as such a comfort, the white-haired girl leaning back against his chest slightly, "Mmm. I'm home." She agrees, letting her hands come up to touch his arms softly. Her eyes close, and it seems as if she might just stay in that embrace. That is, until her eyes come open again, "I should take a shower. Do you have a shirt or something I could borrow? I want to ditch this gown as soon as I can. Maybe burn it." She'd never much worried about being naked in front of him before. It isn't as if they hadn't grown up together, lived together, and seen each other through just about everything. But it's clear that some things are missing in her memories, so she's acting on some of the 'politeness' she'd picked up from having to live with others on the Argama. The topic of Seril and his girlfriend is something he doesn't comment on, even with her prodding. That is to say, not when she brings it up. After all, they were still in the hallway at the time. When the door is closed however, with him leaning over her, there is a little sigh. "Hrrm-rrrm." Ascian makes an agreeing sound. He takes out his datapad and shows a picture to Alina; it shows Hera. "Dated for a few months. But we got into a tense situation, and then didn't see eachother for weeks on end. In the end, we just had to break it off." Still he avoids the Seril topic. The youth lets out a little pleased sound when she leans back against him and touches his arms. It reminds him of how they'd been in the past. And suddenly, the time between now and then seems to compress into very little time, no matter how much had happened. But when she asks him about the shirt and whatever, Ascian slowly parts his arms and nods his head. "I have a shirt?" He comments curiously. Not to ask if he had a shirt, but more as being curious why she was asking for one. "Sure." He wanders off to a nearby closet and brings out a white button up shirt that is, in fact, /way/ too big for Alina. Heck, it's kinda big on him. "Here." He offers it to her while it is still on the hanger. The youth then heads to the door that gives access to the bathroom, in the back, and leans against the side of the entrance so she can head in undisturbed. "As for Seril." Ah, it looks like he will comment after all. One foot goes up and touches flat against the side of the wall. "She's my little sister. I gotta keep it like that." His eyes wander off to the side, as a slight blush appears on his face. "I think I probably fall in love too easily or something. Or can't tell what love is. So I should learn to keep my distance..." Oh if only she had a rolled up newspaper. Oh wait, she didn't do that sort of thing. Alina seems pretty patient, even when he seems to avoid the conversation about his love-life for the time being. Luckily, it's only until they are in his quarters, otherwise she might have to put on the 'big-sister-stare of doom' until he cracked. She takes hold of the datapad for a moment, looking at the picture of Hera. "Hrm. She's not that pretty anyways." Oh, it isn't that Lin is trying to put her down, but if the two of them had broken up, it means that she couldn't have been good enough for her brother. Memories or no, that sibling protective instinct is pretty strong in her. The barefoot girl lingers in the middle of the room for a moment while he grabs that shirt, and then she slings it over one arm, "Thanks." She walks along towards the bathroom, stepping inside with a rustle of the strange gown's fabric before the whole thing is balled up and tossed back out into the main room. "Burn that for me, will you?" Okay, she doesn't /actually/ expect him to burn it, but she is pretty pissed at being shoved into the embarassing thing. At the very least, someone on the Argama had loaned her some pajamas. There is the sound of water being turned on, although she leaves the door open so her voice can carry. "Hrm." The sound of the water changes, making it clear that Lin has actually started her shower, but she seems to be using that as a pause to think about what he's said. "If that's what you want. I just want you to be happy." She seems to settle on this as an acceptable answer, soaping herself off and getting rid of the two-days worth of grime that had built up underneath the Katharon flight suit. "But don't start talking to me about love, Ian. At least you've been in love. You've had someone. The only person I have in my life that I love is you." Somehow, even without her memories, Lin seems to still be quite aware of the fact that she hasn't exactly had much in the way of human relationships. "Really?" Ascian had looked at the datapad to take a look at Hera again, then just hovers his finger over the image and closes the application, causing his background image to pop up - one where they were still both quite alike, blue hair and all, with Alina and Ascian looking at eachother. Wearing regular clothing and all. Back when they were more... normal. "Well, I guess it /is/ hard to be prettier than you." The young man tacks in there for good measure. It wasn't that he didn't still have some remnants of feelings for that girl. She might notice that his left eye had turned... paler somehow, compared to that image. It was hard to spot such a small difference though. He keeps leaning against that wall, his head set back against it as well, instead of shyly looking away. His gaze is set firmly on the ceiling though. A very interesting ceiling. All... white... and with a light in it... and was that a grey mark? No, that's just a shadow. "He catches the fabric gown and stares at it for a moment. "Ehhh." He looks about real quick, and just tosses it over a nearby chair. "There's no burners in here." Indeed, this room didn't have its own cooking unit or anything like that. The closest was a mini fridge in the corner where he kept some snacks and alcoholic beverages. His foot that is against the wall taps impatiently as the girl starts her shower. "I don't know what I want." Ascian mutters, smiling as Alina says she just wants him to be happy. That much had not changed. Though she might not remember everything, her personality is exactly like he remembers it to be. That smile disappears a bit when Alina speaks about love however, making him feel guilty. "Sorry." Ascian mutters. "I love you too, Alina. You know that. And I am sure you'll make plenty of memories in the future, and find someone to love." Alina's own attention is too distracted to notice the picture of the two of them, and she seems a bit reluctant to verify her previous words about his ex-girlfriend. Who knows, he might still love her, and she certainly doesn't want to piss him off. Still, his compliment does bring a smile to her features, "Yeah, well, I come by the good looks naturally." They /are/ twins afterall, so that must mean that he's included in the 'good looks' department. She's too busy rushing off to the shower to notice the change in his eye, not yet anyways. Soap, then shampoo, then a rinse. It doesn't take long at all with her hair being so short. "You should get one of those little electric burners. That way I can cook you breakfast." Like old times - Click. "I've... stayed over at your place before, haven't I?" She asks, the vague memory of her cooking for him while he slept filtering its way to the surface. "I'd forgotten about that." She sighs, and then shoves her head underneath the water for one more rinse, enjoying the warmth. Then, the sound of the water shuts off and there is the rustling of a towel. "That's okay. You've got time to figure it out." She slips into the shirt, buttoning it up with deft fingers. It manages to cover quite a bit, and is certainly more comfortable than the medical gown. "I'm not worried about it, Ian. If it happens, it happens. Besides, I've always got you, and as long as you're here, I'll never be really alone." But then the sight of her own reflection in the mirror catches her attention, and Lin stops. The towel slides free from her fingers and flops onto the ground as she leans forward, wiping a hand across the foggy glass. Her breath studders, "I must have been in bad shape..." Before, without any memory of who she was or what she looked like before, her appearance hadn't seemed quite so bad. Now, it seems to catch her off-guard. The young woman traces the scar along her cheek, then reaches up and touches those lines only barely hidden beneath her short hair. At the very least, her hair was clean and back to it's usual white, rather than the dull gray it had been. She doesn't come back out for now, caught somewhat in a daze as she leans forward, staring at her own reflection. "So you do. And the white hair /is/ a rather nice addition." Hey, what can he say? He liked white hair on girls. Or maybe it was through his sister he found that he liked it? Either way, he'd commented on this to Adom Nazir god knows how many weeks ago now. Deciding that he wants to move around, he pushes himself off of the wall and begins to clean up the room a bit. The bed gets re-done, though with how clean he tends to be, it was really more of an obsessive compulsive like gesture than anything else. He checks the minifridge and makes sure nothing is going bad in there, and then begins to sort things in the closet. All, while listening to Alina talking. "I can see what I can do." The datapad gets unceremoniously tossed onto the bed somewhere in the middle of it all, and Duat decides to pipe up around that time. "The repairs on the Mayet and Amenthes have commenced." The British female voice resounds through the room at a decent tone. "Thank you, Duat. Keep me posted." Ascian answers and gets into something more casual and comfortable. Not these... clothing. These clothing in which he'd almost shot his sister to death. Actually. Hoppa! That set goes right onto the chair along with Alina's gown. More clothing to be burned. "But that's true. As long as I am here, and even Seril is here, you will never be alone." Oh, if only he knew how true that was. Unless some terrible accident would happen, or life changed harshly on them, that girl would outlive the both of them. Finally, he flops onto the bed wearing simply a red button-up shirt over a black undershirt, along with a pair of black pants. He doesn't bother with socks or shoes at the moment. "You done almost?" He bounces up and down the bed for a bit, and then just wanders off to the bathroom and wanders in as if it were nothing. "Hrrm? Yeah, you've stayed over at my place more than you lived in your room." Whether that was an exageration or not, who knows. "Hrrm? You don't look that bad." Ascian quickly continues on and moves his head closer to hers to stare at those scars of hers. The fact that Alina had gone so quiet for such a length of time is probably something of a concern. Perhaps something had happened to her? No, nothing so dramatic. The young woman is simply entranced by her own reflection. There is a bit of a glassy look to her eyes, as if she were on the verge of tears. Her long hair is gone, her face is scarred, and the eyes that look back at her seem lost. She takes a breath to steady herself, then nods her head, "It scared me so much when it happened, though." At least she finally starts talking again, although there is a catch in her voice. She doesn't seem to notice the sounds of him moving around, or the interaction between himself and Duat. Alina traces her fingers over those scars once again, breathing slowly as she starts to come to grips with her new face, this new 'me'. When Ascian appears behind her in the reflection, Lin jumps a bit, and then turns to blink at him. She looks him up and down with confusion in her eyes. "You changed clothes?" She shakes her head, tucking a few strands of still damp hair behind her ear as she glances again at her reflection in the mirror. "I must have been such a pain to you before. Hanging around all the time." There is uncertainty in her voice, her eyes watching the two of them in the mirror glass. It is his reflection that she catches moving closer to her, and her head turns, regarding him quizziacally. "Sorry for taking so long. Just got distracted." She lets out a sigh and puts on another of those smiles of hers, leaning forward to give him a quick kiss to the cheek. "You've probably got things to do, so I'll just crash here for the night, and I'll figure out things tomorrow." She's assuming that his change of clothes has to do with him having some date or appointment or something. Lin slips past him and back into the main room, making her way over towards the bed. In one of those displays that shows just how little has changed, Lin flops unceremoniously to the covers, grabbing onto one of his pillows and snuggling it in an almost comical display. Taking a breath, she murmurs, "It smells like you." As if this were obviously a good thing. Then, realizing how silly she's acting, Lin releases the pillow and puts it back in place, scootching over to the side. "Sorry." Embarassed, the white-haired framerunner just shifts herself up against the wall, sprawling herself out on her back as she hooks her arms behind her head, looking up at the ceiling. "Thanks for letting me stay, Ian." She glances towards him, almost shyly. Ascian seems surprised when Alina comments on how she must have been a bother. "Huh? No, not really. In fact, quite the opposite. We spent days upon days together, keeping eachother company. Keeping eachother entertained. Keeping eachother strong." The young man moved a hand along the side of her face as she moved away, following her along. "Don't worry, your hair will grow back, and then nobody will see the scars anymore." The fact that she didn't quite like the look of her own eyes isn't caught by him however. "And yes. I remember that." He chuckles. "It was a strange time. But we pulled eachother through." As Alina had commented before, he'd done the same for Seril when he'd found out she was different. "No need to get so jumpy. Just get used to me hovering around you whenever you are here." Ascian follows that up with as Alina leads the way out of the bathroom again. "I just figured I needed something to wear, that's all. There was a reason for it too. Mostly the fact that Alina seemed not to remember certain aspects of their lives, and he doesn't wanna scare her all of the sudden with things. "But no, I have nothing to do anymore today. I'll probably be off for a while. I don't know." Though knowing him, he was never truly 'off'. Vacations or not. He then settles on the bed next to her, and watches her with a smile when she nuzzles into his pillow. When she scootches further to the side however, Ascian grabs the pillow and offers it to her. "No need to be sorry. I used to nuzzle your pillow sometimes when we'd get seperated for a while. It was like having you around." Without a shard of embarassment, he utters these words. "And no need to thank me. I'm your brother. It's only natural." Heh. Natural. The youngster then moves his hand along her hair again and places a kiss on her forehead. Without a word, Lin accepts that pillow and hugs it, closing her eyes as she buries her face into it again in a fashion that some might find almost childish. His reassurances that her behavior was quite normal, though, seem to come as a comfort. "It must be so weird for you." She admits, peeking over the edge of the pillow towards him, her voice just slightly muffled by it. "I probably act so strangely, or say really stupid things." She is already learning that some of the things she thought about sibling relationships didn't fit with theirs, and in some ways, she's quite glad of it. The brothers and sisters who couldn't stand each other - that's not how she ever wanted to be with him. "I'll get used to things, just be patient with me, okay?" She asks, finally pushing the pillow down away from her nose so she can talk properly. Laying like that, she almost looks like she might have a years ago. So much has changed. "Ian..." She settles into a more serious expression, pushing herself up so she's sitting with his pillow in her lap. "Whatever they told you, I'm still me. I get a little lost sometimes, or don't remember things, but I'm still Lin. Okay?" It seems as if she had overheard some of what the doctor had reported to Ascian, and it leaves a worried look on her brows. In fact, she's as much trying to convince herself as she is trying to convince him. She closes her eyes as his lips touch her forehead, letting out a sigh before leaning herself forward, sliding her arms around his nearest arm and nuzzling her head into his shoulder. "I kept dreaming about you. Almost every night after that first time I saw Amenthes. I didn't know if you were real or if I was just going nuts. And everyone kept saying I had space madness." She's babbling, but who can blame her - she hasn't slept in quite a long time. "You aren't weird. Don't worry about it Lin. Those things you do, those things that come natural, those are things you used to do. Nuzzling the pillow, those sort of things. If you feel like doing something around me, just do it. It's more than likely the same thing you used to do." Ascian explains to Lin, chuckling as she peeks over the edge of that pillow. That was kinda cute. It's true though. Their sibling relationship was definitely nothing like those brothers and sisters who could not stand one-another. In fact, with them, it was almost the absolute opposite. "And don't worry, I'm patient." Perhaps not as patient as some, but when it came to his sister, he'd give as much time as the girl needed to get used to things again. Ian - she asks him. "Yes, Lin?" He replies without skipping a beat, and lets her sit back up with that pillow of his. "Hrrm? What is it?" He lets her know that she's fine asking him whatever. And when she does so, Ascian just nods and gently smiles at her. "I know you are still Lin. I can see it in your eyes." He gazes deeply within those blues of hers, and puts a hand at her chin. "Don't worry yourself." As she then finally sighs and curls around his arm, he moves his other hand to her head and gently strokes her hair - just like he'd do to Seril - and just like he'd done to his sister so many times; to ease her mind. "I am real. Amenthes is real. And most importantly, you are real. It's alright. Everything will be alright." He continues to stroke her hair, almost like he were soothing her to go to sleep. Category:Logs